Sharp-shinned hawk

Marty’s photo of the day #1552: This past week was a good bird week around our house. On my early morning bike ride, I stopped partway up our hill to watch a great horned owl—silhouetted in the twilight—call to another owl, a hundred yards away. When I joined in with the hooting, the big owl glared down at me, as if saying “you’ve got it all wrong.” Also Deb spotted a ruby-crowned kinglet, a species of bird that we hadn’t seen around here before. As for today’s photo, this sharp-shinned hawk was right behind our house. I quietly opened the door and shot this portrait while standing in the doorway.